Heating and cooling apparatus, and vacuum processing apparatus equipped with this apparatus

ABSTRACT

A heating and cooling apparatus with which batch processing is possible and throughput can be increased, and furthermore which is more compact and uses less energy. A substrate heating chamber and a substrate cooling chamber each capable of simultaneously holding a plurality of substrates are provided in a thermally separated state in a heating and cooling apparatus with a single vacuum processing chamber. The substrate heating chamber is equipped with a plurality of communicating or non-communicating substrate holding spaces. The substrate cooling chamber is also equipped with a plurality of communicating or non-communicating substrate holding spaces. The communicating substrate holding spaces allow the batch heat treatment of substrates, while the non-communicating substrate holding spaces allow the batch or individual processing of substrates.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a heating and cooling apparatusattached to a vacuum processing apparatus, and more particularly relatesto a heating and cooling apparatus for a vacuum processing apparatusthat forms a thin film on a large glass substrate.

2. Description of Related Art

Several different processes have been used to fabricate devicestructures by forming films of various types on substrates. Theseprocesses include heat treatment in which a substrate (also called awafer) is heated, cooled, or annealed, besides sputtering and other suchprocesses (hereinafter referred to as other processes). In particular,heat treatment involving heating and cooling takes more time than otherprocesses, and if an attempt is made to perform the heating and coolingin a shorter time, this can lead to problems of substrate warpage ordamage, and consequently throughput could not be raised any further.

In view of this, as disclosed in Japanese Patents 2,575,285 and2,766,774, apparatus have been proposed in the past in which a heatingchamber and a cooling chamber are each provided independently of otherprocess chambers, and substrates that require heat treatment, such asheating or cooling, can be subjected to heating or cooling treatment inparallel while substrate processing is being performed in the otherprocess chambers.

Meanwhile, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application 2000-119848 discloses avacuum film formation apparatus in which the interior of oneloading/unloading chamber (corresponds to a load-lock/unload-lockchamber) is partitioned into a loading section and an unloading section,a heating means is provided to the loading section, and a cooling meansis provided to the unloading section.

However, with the prior art disclosed in Japanese Patents 2,575,285 and2,766,774, the heating and cooling of the substrates are performedseparately in chambers (vacuum processing chambers) that areindependently provided. Consequently, while the batch processing ofsubstrates is possible in these heating-only and cooling-only chambers,because they are independently provided, they make the apparatusbulkier, and the apparatus therefore takes up more installation space.Also, while the batch processing of substrates is indeed possible withthese dedicated chambers, because the substrate processing temperatureinside each chamber is controlled to the same predetermined temperature,only substrates subject to the same processing conditions can be treatedin batches.

Also, when it is necessary to increase the number of chambers, theamount of installation space taken up also increases, and the apparatusitself consumes more power, and this is contrary to the need to make anapparatus more compact and energy-efficient.

With the loading and unloading sections disclosed in Japanese PatentApplication Laid-Open No. 2000-119848, only one substrate can be treatedat a time in either chamber, and therefore only one substrate can beheated and one cooled (maximum total of two substrates) can be treatedsimultaneously in a single loading/unloading chamber, and batchprocessing, involving numerous substrates treated at the same time,cannot be performed in the heating and cooling treatments.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The first object of this invention is to provide a heating and coolingapparatus with which batch processing involving simultaneous heating andcooling in the same vacuum processing chamber is possible and throughputcan be increased, and furthermore which is more compact uses lessenergy.

The second object of this invention is to provide a heating and coolingapparatus with which the heat treatment temperatures for varioussubstrates are set independently and batch processing involvingsimultaneous heating and cooling in the same vacuum processing chamberis possible and throughput can be increased, and furthermore which ismore compact uses less energy.

The third object of this invention is to provide a vacuum processingapparatus equipped with either of the above-mentioned heating andcooling apparatus.

In order to achieve the stated objects, the heating and coolingapparatus of this invention comprises a substrate heating chamber (orsection) and a substrate cooling chamber (or section) as substrate heattreatment chambers (or sections) in a single vacuum processing chamber.

With this structure, a substrate heating chamber and a substrate coolingchamber are provided independently inside a single vacuum processingchamber that is separate from the vacuum processing chamber in whichother processes are performed. Therefore, numerous substrates to bebatch treated can be placed in the substrate heating chamber and thesubstrate cooling chamber and subjected to heating and coolingseparately from, but in parallel with, the other processes, and thissimultaneous heating and cooling can be carried out within a singlevacuum processing chamber. Also, since the other processes are carriedout in a separate chamber from the heating and cooling of thesubstrates, there is an increase in throughput and there is lesscontamination of the substrates. Also, because the substrate heatingchamber and the substrate cooling chamber are provided independentlyinside a single vacuum processing chamber that is separate from thevacuum processing chamber in which other processes are performed, notonly is the heating and cooling apparatus more compact andenergy-efficient, but so is the vacuum processing apparatus equippedwith this apparatus.

In a preferred embodiment of this invention, a substrate transportationchamber (or section) used for substrates that require no heating andcooling is provided between the substrate heating chamber and thesubstrate cooling chamber.

With this structure, substrates that require no heating and cooling canbe shunted to the substrate transportation chamber of the vacuumprocessing chamber, or moved to the outside via this substratetransportation chamber, which allows the apparatus to be even morecompact.

In an embodiment of this invention, it is preferable if the substrateheating chamber and the substrate cooling chamber are thermally shieldedfrom one another within the vacuum processing chamber.

This structure allows the heating and cooling of the substrates to becontrolled more accurately.

Also, in an embodiment of this invention, it is preferable if thesubstrate heating chamber and the substrate transportation chamber arethermally shielded from one another within the vacuum processingchamber, and the substrate cooling chamber and the substratetransportation chamber are thermally shielded from one another withinthe vacuum processing chamber.

This structure keeps the substrates that require no heating or coolingfrom being affected by the heat treatments conducted in the substrateheating chamber and the substrate cooling chamber. Furthermore, itminimizes the effect of temperature that the substrates requiring noheating or cooling have on the substrates that do require heating orcooling.

Also, in an embodiment of this invention, it is preferable if thesubstrate that is treated in the substrate heating chamber is a glasssubstrate. In this case, a liquid crystal device can be formed from thisglass substrate in a short time and at a good yield.

In a preferred embodiment of this invention, the substrate heattreatment chamber is equipped with at least one suitable opening andclosing means for transporting the substrates in and out, such as anopening or an openable and closable door (or plate).

In yet another preferred embodiment of this invention, a suitableopening and closing means for transporting the substrates in and out,such as an openable and closable door or a gate valve, is provided tothe substrate heating chamber and to the substrate cooling chamber.

With this structure, substrate heat treatment, vacuum controlling, andother required processing can be suitably performed apart from anadjacent vacuum processing chamber or separation chamber for otherprocesses such as deposition (or film formation) and etching.

In another preferred embodiment of this invention, the substrate heatingchamber and/or the substrate cooling chamber is divided into a pluralityof substrate holding spaces (or sections) that communicate with oneanother.

With this structure, the various substrate holding spaces can be set tothe same temperature, which means that the substrates being heated canbe batch treated at substantially the same temperature setting, or thetemperature of the individual substrates can be controlled by adjustingthe residence time for each substrate individually. Similarly, thesubstrates being cooled can be batch treated at substantially the sametemperature setting. Therefore, the heat treatment of substrates withthe same processing conditions can be carried out under the sameconditions, so throughput can be increased even more.

With yet another preferred embodiment of this invention, the substrateheating chamber and/or the substrate cooling chamber is furnished with aplurality of substrate holding spaces that do not communicate with oneanother.

In another preferred embodiment of this invention, there is providedheating and cooling control means for enabling the simultaneous heatingof all the substrates held in the communicating substrate holding spacesof the substrate heating chamber and/or the simultaneous cooling of allthe substrates held in the communicating substrate holding spaces of thesubstrate cooling chamber.

With this structure, the temperature of the substrate heat treatment canbe set to a suitable temperature that is common to the batch heating andthat is common to the batch cooling, and these temperatures can be setindependently and simultaneously, so throughput can be increased evenmore.

In a preferred embodiment of this invention, there is provided a heatingand cooling control means for enabling the individual heating ofsubstrates held in the non-communicating substrate holding spaces of thesubstrate heating chamber and/or the individual cooling of substratesheld in the non-communicating substrate holding spaces of the substratecooling chamber.

In yet another preferred embodiment of this invention, the substrateheating chamber and the substrate cooling chamber are divided verticallyand/or horizontally.

Either this individual heat treatment or this individual division willallow the temperature to be controlled for individual substrates held inthe substrate heating chamber, and allows the temperature to becontrolled for individual substrates held in the substrate coolingchamber, so throughput can be increased even more.

It is also preferable if the substrates can be supported by a substratesupport while being held in the substrate heating chamber and/or thesubstrate cooling chamber.

The heating and cooling apparatus constituted by all or some of thepreferred structural examples given above may be favorably provided to avacuum processing apparatus. With such a vacuum processing apparatus,batch processing involving simultaneous heating and cooling is possiblein the same vacuum processing chamber, which increases throughput, andfurthermore makes the apparatus more compact and energy-efficient. It isalso possible in this case to set the heating temperature of thesubstrates to be batch treated to the same or individual temperatures,and to set the cooling temperature of the substrates to be batch treatedto the same or individual temperatures. Such temperature control affordsan even higher throughput.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will be better understood from the following description takenin connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 (including FIG. 1(A), FIG. 1(B), and FIG. 1(C)) consists ofschematic diagrams illustrating structural examples of a vacuumprocessing apparatus that incorporates the heating and cooling apparatusof this invention;

FIG. 2 (including FIG. 2(A), FIG. 2(B), and FIG. 2(C)) consists ofschematic diagrams illustrating the features of structural examples ofthe heating and cooling apparatus of this invention;

FIG. 3 (including FIG. 3(A), FIG. 3(B), and FIG. 3(C)) consists ofschematic diagrams illustrating the features of structural examples ofthe heating and cooling apparatus of this invention;

FIG. 4 (including FIG. 4(A), FIG. 4(B), and FIG. 4(C)) consists ofschematic diagrams illustrating the features of structural examples ofthe heating and cooling apparatus of this invention;

FIG. 5 (including FIG. 5(A), FIG. 5(B), and FIG. 5(C)) consists ofschematic diagrams illustrating the features of structural examples ofthe heating and cooling apparatus of this invention;

FIG. 6 (including FIG. 6(A) and FIG. 6(B)) consists of schematicdiagrams illustrating the features of structural examples of the heatingand cooling apparatus of this invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating a first structural example ofthis invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating a second structural exampleof this invention;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating a third structural example ofthis invention;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a fourth structural exampleof this invention;

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the heatingand cooling method in the substrate holding spaces (or sections) of theheating and cooling apparatus of this invention;

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating another example of theheating and cooling method in the substrate holding spaces (or sections)of the heating and cooling apparatus of this invention; and

FIG. 13 consists of schematic diagrams illustrating the number of gatevalves provided to the substrate holding spaces (or sections) of theheating and cooling apparatus of this invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With reference to drawings, a detailed description will hereinafter begiven to the heating and cooling apparatus according to the presentinvention, and the vacuum processing apparatus having incorporated thesame therein. The drawings merely give a simplified depiction of thesize, shape, and dispostional relationships of the various structuralcomponents to the extent that this invention can be understood, and arenot intended to limit this invention in any way to the examples in thesedrawings.

First, a basic structural example of the vacuum processing apparatus towhich this invention is applied will be briefly described.

Typical examples of known vacuum processing apparatus include asingle-wafer sputtering apparatus and an inline CVD apparatus. With asingle-wafer processing apparatus, all or the required portion of vacuumprocessing chambers such as a loading chamber, a plurality ofsputtering-use vacuum processing chambers, a heat treatment-use vacuumprocessing chamber, a stand-by chamber, and an unloading chamber arearranged in a specific order around a separation chamber. With an inlineprocessing apparatus, all or the required portion of vacuum processingchambers such as a loading chamber, a plurality of sputtering-use vacuumprocessing chambers, a heat treatment-use vacuum processing chamber, astand-by chamber, and an unloading chamber are arranged in a specificorder. As is commonly known, a substrate is sent from the loadingchamber to the required vacuum processing chamber, and once the requiredprocessing is completed, the substrate is finally removed to the outsidefrom the unloading chamber. The transport of the substrate during thistime is accomplished with a known transportation mechanism. It is alsocommonly known that heat treatment (heating or cooling) of a substrateis performed in the heat treatment-use vacuum processing chamber beforeand after deposition processing on the substrate or between depositionprocessings. The holding of the substrate in this heat treatment-usevacuum processing chamber, and is removal and transport therefrom, arealso carried out by robot.

Also, as disclosed in Japanese Patents 2,575,285 and 2,766,774, when thesubstrate holding cassette provided to the heat treatment-use vacuumprocessing chamber is divided into a plurality of cells, each cell mustbe appropriately positioned facing the gate valve of the vacuumprocessing chamber, so an elevator apparatus is provided for moving thissubstrate holding cassette up and down. Each cell is moved to thisposition, the gate valve of the vacuum processing chamber is opened, anda substrate is loaded into or unloaded from the corresponding cell.

The specific structure and operation of the conventional structuralelements discussed above are known, and unless there is a particularneed, the detailed description of these will be omitted herein.

With the heating and cooling apparatus of this invention, only thesubstrate heating chamber and substrate cooling chamber for the heattreatment of substrates requiring no heating or cooling are provided assubstrate heat treatment chambers within a single vacuum processingchamber.

The structural characteristics of this invention will now be describedthrough reference to FIGS. 1 to 10. FIGS. 1(A), (B), and (C) diagramsillustrating structural examples of the vacuum processing apparatus ofthis invention. FIGS. 2 to 6 are simplified diagrams illustrating someof the features of this invention. FIGS. 7 to 10 are simplifiedschematic diagrams illustrating the structure of a heating and coolingapparatus.

First, the vacuum processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1(A) is asingle-wafer processing apparatus, in which a heating and coolingapparatus 100 and first and second sputtering-use vacuum processingchambers (Pro1 and Pro2) 108 and 106 are arranged adjacent to aseparation chamber (Sep) 104 equipped with a transportation mechanism.

This heating and cooling apparatus 100 has a vacuum processing chamber40 and a substrate heat treatment chamber 10 located inside the chamber40 and consisting of a substrate heating chamber and a substrate coolingchamber (H/C). A loading chamber (in this case, this includes bothloading and unloading, and is therefore labeled L/UL) 102 is disposedadjacent to this vacuum processing chamber 40 for substrate heattreatment.

The loading chamber 102 and the vacuum processing chamber 40, the vacuumprocessing chamber 40 and the separation chamber 104, and the separationchamber 104 and the vacuum processing chambers 106 and 108 are eachseparated by gate valves so as to allow the substrates to be moved inand out.

The substrate processing in a vacuum processing chamber such as thisusually involves heating followed by deposition, which is followed bycooling. Naturally, this order can be varied as needed.

With the vacuum processing apparatus in the structural example shown inFIG. 1(A), after being transported to the loading chamber 102, thesubstrate is transported to a vacuum heating chamber or section of thevacuum processing chamber 40 having the substrate heat treatment chamberor section 10 (this chamber 40 is also called a heat treatment-usevacuum treatment chamber) after the loading chamber has been pumped tothe required pressure. After being heated to the required temperature inthe vacuum heating chamber or section, the substrate is transported tothe separation chamber 104. The substrate is sent from this separationchamber 104 to the first vacuum processing chamber 108 for the requireddeposition processing. In some cases, the substrate is subjected todeposition or film formation after first being heated or cooled to therequired temperature by a heating mechanism of the first vacuumprocessing chamber 108. Upon completion of the processing in the firstvacuum processing chamber 108, the substrate is returned to theseparation chamber 104. When the processing conditions are such thatdeposition is to be carried out in the second vacuum processing chamber106 immediately after the processing in the first vacuum processingchamber 108, the substrate is accordingly sent to and processed in thesecond vacuum processing chamber 106. Alternatively, when the processingconditions are such that the substrate is transported to the secondvacuum processing chamber 106 after first being heated or cooled, thesubstrate is first transported to the vacuum processing chamber 40,where the substrate is heat treated at the required temperature, afterwhich it is transported back through the separation chamber 104 to thesecond vacuum processing chamber 106, where deposition is performed.Upon completion of the processing in the second vacuum processingchamber, the substrate is returned to the vacuum processing chamber 40through the separation chamber 104. If cooling is necessary at thispoint, the substrate is cooled to the required temperature in thesubstrate cooling chamber inside the vacuum processing chamber 40. If nocooling is needed, then the substrate is returned to the loading chamber102 through the substrate transportation part of the vacuum processingchamber.

FIGS. 1(B) and (C) are diagrams of other structural examples of a vacuumprocessing apparatus. In the structural example shown in FIG. 1(B), theseparation chamber is disposed between two vacuum processing chambersfor deposition, sputtering, or the like, and this separation chamber isdisposed between the loading chamber and the vacuum processing chamberhaving a substrate heat treatment chamber.

In the structural example shown in FIG. 1(C), there are provided twosets in which the separation chamber is disposed between two vacuumprocessing chambers for deposition, sputtering, or the like, and thearrangement order is as follows: loading chamber, first separationchamber, vacuum processing chamber having a substrate heat treatmentchamber, and second separation chamber.

The features of the substrate heat treatment chamber 10 discussed abovewill now be briefly described through reference to FIGS. 1 to 6. In thestructural examples shown in these drawings, the vacuum processingchamber 40 and the gate valve 48 provided to this vacuum processingchamber 40 have conventional structures. Also, in the structuralexamples shown in these drawings, the substrate heat treatment chamber10 is able to move up and down within the vacuum processing chamber 40,and since the movement means is a known means, it is not shown. In FIGS.2 to 6, the positional relationship between the vacuum processingchamber 40 and the substrate heat treatment chamber 10 on the inside isshown as an appropriate positional relationship, and therefore, to movethe substrate out after its heat treatment, the substrate heat treatmentchamber 10 is moved either up or down so that the substrate is broughtto the position across from the gate valve 48 of the vacuum processingchamber 40, and is then transported out.

The heating and cooling means in the structural examples shown in FIGS.2 to 6 are neither shown nor described, although these will be discussedlater.

With this invention, as shown in FIG. 2(A), the substrate heat treatmentchamber 10 of the heating and cooling apparatus 100 is equipped with asubstrate heating chamber or section 20 and a substrate cooling chamberor section 30 (shown in the drawings as regions bounded by a dottedline) inside the vacuum processing chamber 40.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 3(A), a substrate transportation chamberor section 70 for substrates that require no heating or cooling can beprovided between the substrate heating chamber 20 and the substratecooling chamber 30.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 4(A), a shielding means 110 may beprovided for thermally shielding the substrate heating chamber 20 andthe substrate cooling chamber 30 from each other inside the vacuumprocessing chamber 40.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 5(A), in this invention a shielding means120 for thermally shielding the substrate heating chamber 20 and thesubstrate transportation chamber 70 from each other, and a shieldingmeans 130 for thermally shielding the substrate cooling chamber 30 andthe substrate transportation chamber 70 from each other can be providedinside the vacuum processing chamber 40.

Also, in some cases, as shown in FIGS. 2(B), 3(B), 4(B), 5(B), and 6(A),the substrate heating chamber 20 and/or the substrate cooling chamber 30can be divided into a plurality of substrate holding spaces or sections22 and 32 that communicate with each other.

Also, in some cases, as shown in FIGS. 2(C), 3(C), 4(C), 5(C), and 6(B),the substrate heating chamber 20 and/or the substrate cooling chamber 30can be divided into a plurality of substrate holding spaces or sections23 and 35 that do not communicate with each other.

Furthermore, in a structural example of this invention, the substrateheat treatment chamber 10 is furnished with a gate valve as an openingand closing means or an opening for transporting substrates in and out.In the structural example shown in FIG. 6(A), a stationary verticaldivider 150 that extends in the up and down direction (also referred toas the perpendicular or vertical direction) inside the vacuum processingchamber 40, and an opening 152 for allowing substrates to be transportedin and out is provided at one place, at a location across from the gatevalve 48. Therefore, the portion of the vertical partition or divider150 other than this opening 152 serves as a side wall that separates thecommunicating substrate holding spaces 22 and 32 from the othersubstrate holding spaces on at least one side. Naturally, the verticaldivider 150 may be formed cylindrically and provided so that itcompletely surrounds the substrate holding spaces 22 and 32. Thisvertical divider can, of course, be similarly provided to thenon-communicating substrate holding spaces.

Alternatively, in some cases, stationary partition or dividers 154 canbe provided to the non-communicating substrate holding spaces 23 and 35,away from these chambers, with the position across from the gate valve48 being an opening, just as in FIG. 6(A).

In the structural example shown in FIG. 6(B), these dividers 154 areprovided at locations corresponding to openings on one side (the leftside in the drawing) of the non-communicating substrate holding spaces23 and 35, independently and apart from each other. Naturally, thesedividers can be similarly provided to the communicating substrateholding spaces.

This invention is also applicable to structures other than thestructural examples described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 6. Forinstance, as is clear from the structural examples given below, anopenable and closable door or a gate valve can be provided so as to sealoff the substrate holding spaces.

Next, specific examples of the structure of this invention will bedescribed with reference to FIGS. 7 to 13. FIGS. 7 to 10 are simplifiedschematic diagrams illustrating examples of the structure of a heatingand cooling apparatus.

In the structural example shown in FIG. 7, the substrate heat treatmentchamber 10 (also called a heating and cooling chamber) 10 of the heatingand cooling apparatus 100 is separated vertically inside the vacuumprocessing chamber 40. In this example, the substrate heating chamber 20is on the top, and the substrate cooling chamber 30 is on the bottom,with the two chambers communicating. In FIG. 7, portions of the walls ofthe vacuum processing chamber 40 are labeled 40 a and 40 b. Thesubstrate heat treatment chamber 10 is formed overall as a singlecontainer.

In the structural example shown in FIG. 7, the container and the vacuumprocessing chamber are quadrangular in shape. In the drawing, 12 is theceiling of the substrate heating and cooling chamber 10, 14 is thebottom, 15 is the left wall, and 16 is the right wall. In thisstructural example, the inside of the container chamber is divided by awall in the lateral direction (called a lateral wall or partition ordivider) 18, and this divider 18 is used as a shielding means topartition the inside of the container chamber into the substrate heatingchamber 20 on the top and the substrate cooling chamber 30 on thebottom, and to thermally shield, or isolate, these chambers 20 and 30.

Therefore, the substrate heating chamber 20 is surrounded by the ceiling12, the lateral wall 18, the left wall 15, the right wall 16, and frontand rear walls (not shown in the drawings). Meanwhile, the substratecooling chamber 30 is surrounded by the bottom 14, the lateral wall 18,the left wall 15, the right wall 16, and front and rear walls (notshown). In order to improve the thermal insulation effect, it ispreferable in this case for all of part of the inner walls of theheating chamber 20 and the cooling chamber 30 to be formed from amaterial with excellent thermal insulation properties.

It is also preferable for the substrate heating chamber 20 and/or thesubstrate cooling chamber 30 to be divided into a plurality of substrateholding spaces 22 and 32 that communicate with each other. The dividers24 and 34 in this case can be, for example, shelves appropriatelyprovided to the container side walls. These substrate holding spaces 22and 32 are preferably designed so that the substrates can be held in astate of being supported by a substrate support (called a tray; notshown). It is also possible for the substrate holding spaces 22 and 32to be such that the substrates held in these holding chambers are heatedor cooled all at once in the heating chamber 20 or the cooling chamber30.

The above-mentioned heating and cooling apparatus 100 is equipped with aheating and cooling control means 50 for controlling the heating in thesubstrate heating chamber 20 or the cooling in the substrate coolingchamber 30. In the structural example in FIG. 7, the heating and coolingchambers 20 and 30 are designed so that their respective substrateholding spaces 22 and 32 are thermally controlled all at once with aheating gas 26 or cooling gas 36, for example. Accordingly, while notshown in FIG. 7, a gas supply and exhaust system for supplying andexhausting the heating gas, a temperature control system for controllingthe temperature inside the heating chamber 20 and therefore thesubstrate holding space 22, or the like can be provided as a heatingcontrol means for the substrate heating chamber 20. Similarly, while notshown in FIG. 7, a gas supply and exhaust system for supplying andexhausting the cooling gas, a temperature control system for controllingthe temperature inside the cooling chamber 30 and therefore thesubstrate holding space 32, or the like can be provided as a coolingcontrol means for the substrate cooling chamber 30.

This heat treatment may be performed by a heater, a heating or coolingpipe, a heat pump, or another direct or indirect, suitable heating orcooling means 50.

The vacuum processing chamber 40 incorporating the above-mentionedsubstrate heat treatment chamber (heating and cooling chamber) 10 isnormally adjacent to another vacuum processing chamber, such as adeposition chamber, in which case gate valves may be provided to thevarious vacuum processing chambers, just as in the past. The heattreatment chambers 20 and 30 of the heating and cooling chamber 10 areable to hold numerous substrates simultaneously, so doors 28 and 38 areprovided to the substrate holding spaces 22 and 32 in order tofacilitate the movement of these substrates in and out. These doors 28and 38 may be provided at one or more places for each of the substrateholding spaces 22 and 32. In the structural example shown in FIG. 7, thedoors 28 and 38 are provided to the right wall 16 on the side facing oneof the walls, 40 b, of the vacuum processing chamber 40. The wall 40 bof the vacuum processing chamber 40 is provided with a gate valve 42 ata suitable location. The door 28 or 38 and the gate valve 42 must belocated across from the place where the substrates are moved in and out.Therefore, an elevator apparatus, such as a rod mechanism 60 that movesup and down hydraulically or by means of a motor, is provided for movingthe heating and cooling chamber 10 up and down.

With the above-mentioned structural example of FIG. 7, the substrateheating chamber 20 and the substrate cooling chamber 30 are providedindependently inside a single vacuum processing chamber 40 that isindependent of the vacuum processing chambers in which other processingis performed.

Therefore, if numerous substrates to be subjected to batch heattreatment are disposed in the substrate holding spaces 22 and/or 32 ofthe substrate heating chamber 20 and the substrate cooling chamber 30,respectively, the heating and cooling of the substrates can be carriedout separately and in parallel with other deposition processing, andthese heat treatments (heating and cooling) can also be carried outsimultaneously.

Also, throughput is raised since other processing besides heating andcooling is carried out in different chambers from those in which thesubstrates are heated and cooled. Also, because the substrate heatingchamber 20 and the substrate cooling chamber 30 are providedindependently within a single vacuum processing chamber 40 that isseparate from the vacuum processing chambers in which other processingbesides heating and cooling is performed, not only the heating andcooling apparatus 100, but also the vacuum processing apparatus equippedwith this apparatus 100 can be made more compact and energy-efficient.

Next, another structural example of the heating and cooling apparatus100 of this invention will be described through reference to FIG. 8. Inthe structural example of FIG. 8, the inside of the container of thesubstrate heat treatment chamber 10 is partitioned by a vertical wall,namely, the vertical wall 17, so as to allow thermal shielding, and thesubstrate heating chamber 20 and the substrate cooling chamber 30 aredivided laterally. Accordingly, the doors 28 and 38 that are used tofacilitate moving the substrates in and out are each provided at oneplace in each of the substrate holding spaces 22 and 32 of the substrateheating chamber 20 and the substrate cooling chamber 30, respectively,and gate valves 42 are provided one each to the walls 40 a and 40 b oneither side of these substrate holding spaces 22 and 32. The rest of thestructure can be the same as the structure illustrated in FIG. 7 asneeded, and will therefore not be described again.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating another preferred structural example ofthe heating and cooling apparatus 100 of this invention. In thisstructural example, a plurality of substrate holding spaces 23 and 35that do not communicate with each other are provided to the substrateheating chamber 20 and/or the substrate cooling chamber 30.

Accordingly, a plurality of lateral walls 19 are provided inside thechamber of the container 10 of this apparatus 100 to partition theplurality of substrate holding spaces 23 and 35 and thermally shieldthem from one another.

With these lateral walls, just as with the structural example in FIG. 7,at least the inner walls on the substrate holding space side arepreferably formed from a material with good thermal insulationproperties. Since the substrate holding spaces 23 and 35 are thermallyshielded or isolated and independent from each other, heating or coolingin the various chambers must be performed independently. Accordingly, aheating control means 50 that is the same as that described in thestructural example shown in FIG. 7 is provided to the substrate holdingspace 23 of the substrate heating chamber 20 and to the substrateholding space 35 of the substrate cooling chamber 30. Thus providing aheating or cooling means separately to the substrate holding space 23 or35 allows the temperatures in the chambers to be controlledindependently, which makes it possible to perform the appropriate heattreatment on the substrates being held.

Also, in the structural example shown in FIG. 9, the doors 28 and 38 areprovided at two places to each of the substrate holding spaces 23 and35. Accordingly, one gate valve 48 is also provided to each of the walls40 a and 40 b of the vacuum processing chamber 40 corresponding to theabove-mentioned gate valves. While not shown in the drawings, thelocations of the gate valves 48 provided to the walls 40 a and 40 b maybe at the same or different levels vertically. If the levels aredifferent, then one gate valve 48 can be used exclusively for thesubstrate heating chamber 20, and the other gate valve 48 can be usedexclusively for the substrate cooling chamber 30. These gate valves 48may also be provided to the same or different walls. The rest of thestructure can be the same as the structure illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8as needed, and will therefore not be described again.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating another structural example of theheating and cooling apparatus 100 of this invention. The differencebetween the structural example in FIG. 10 and the structural example inFIG. 9 is that a substrate transportation chamber 70 used for substratesthat require no heating and cooling is provided between the substrateheating chamber 20 and the substrate cooling chamber 30. This substratetransportation chamber 70 is thermally shielded or isolated from thesubstrate heating chamber 20 and the substrate cooling chamber 30 aboveand below. At least one door 72 is provided to this substratetransportation chamber 70 as well. In the example shown here, the doors72 are provided on both sides of the substrate transportation chamber70.

With this structure, substrates that require no heating or cooling canbe shunted to the substrate transportation chamber 70 of the vacuumprocessing chamber 40, or moved to the outside via this vacuumprocessing chamber 40, which allows the apparatus to be even morecompact.

The substrate transportation chamber 70 also keeps the substrates thatrequire no heating or cooling from being affected by the heat treatmentsconducted in the substrate heating chamber 20 and the substrate coolingchamber 30.

A substrate transportation chamber similar in nature to this substratetransportation chamber 70 can also be provided as needed to thestructural examples in FIGS. 7 and 8 as dictated by the design.

The rest of the structure can be the same as the structure illustratedin FIGS. 7, 8, and as needed, and will therefore not be described again.

FIGS. 11 and 12 are diagrams illustrating the heating and cooling methodin the non-communicating individual substrate holding spaces 23 and 25.A substrate 80 is held in each of the substrate holding spaces 23 and 35via a suitable support means 82.

Just as described for the structural example in FIG. 7, the exampleshown in FIG. 11 illustrates a method for heating or cooling thesubstrate 80 by providing a gas supply and exhaust system to thesubstrate holding space 23 or 35 and circulating a gas from the outside.FIG. 12 illustrates a method for heating or cooling the substrate 80 byattaching a heat pump or other suitable heating or cooling means to thesubstrate holding space and heating or cooling the substrate 80 byradiation.

With the structure shown in FIG. 11 or 12, it is possible toindividually heat the substrate 80 held in the non-communicatingsubstrate holding space 23 of the substrate heating chamber 20 and/or toindividually cool the substrate 80 held in the non-communicatingsubstrate holding space 35 of the substrate cooling chamber 30.

The heating and cooling method described through reference to FIGS. 11and 12 can be favorably applied not only to the non-communicatingsubstrate holding spaces 23 and 35, but also to the communicatingsubstrate holding spaces 22 and 32.

FIGS. 13(A), (B), (C), and (D) are diagrams illustrating the number ofgate valves 48 provided to the vacuum processing chamber 40. How thegate valves are provided to the vacuum processing chamber is determinedby where the vacuum processing chamber of this heating and coolingapparatus is disposed in the vacuum processing apparatus. In the exampleshown in FIG. 13(A), no gate valve is provided around the vacuumprocessing chamber. In the example shown in FIG. 13(B), one gate valveis provided around the vacuum processing chamber. In the example shownin FIG. 13(C), one gate valve is provided to each of the two side wallsfacing each other around the vacuum processing chamber. In the exampleshown in FIG. 13(D), one gate valve is provided to each of three sidewalls around the vacuum processing chamber. Thus the required separationchamber, loading chamber, and other vacuum processing chambers can bedisposed around the vacuum processing chamber as dictated by the design.

Gate valves are provided at three places in the structural example shownin FIG. 13(D), and in actual practice, a gate valve can be attached atone or two places out of the three on the vacuum processing chamber, andthe remaining place or places can be readied for the attachment of agate valve and a blank flange temporarily attached at this place orplaces. In this case, the gate valves are attached as in the structuralexample shown in FIG. 13(B) or (C).

In the structural examples described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 10,the substrate is placed in a direction perpendicular to the direction ofmovement of the substrate holding space, that is, the substrate is laidhorizontally, but placing the substrate parallel (vertically) or at anangle to the direction of movement of the substrate holding space, thatis, designing the substrate holding space so that the substrate isplaced standing up, can also be favorably applied to this inventioninstead. If the substrate is standing up, though, the vacuum processingchamber 40 will take up somewhat more surface area than when thesubstrate is laid horizontally. Nevertheless, since the separationchamber or vacuum processing chambers for deposition or sputtering willalso be vertical, they will each take up less space, and accordingly thevacuum processing apparatus as a whole will take up less space, makingthe apparatus itself more compact.

In the structural example described with reference to theabove-mentioned FIGS. 7 to 13, the doors 28 and 38 were provided to thesubstrate transportation ports of the substrate holding spaces 22, 23,32, and 35, but if a tighter seal is required, then gate valves can beprovided at the substrate transportation ports of the substrate holdingspaces 22, 23, 32, and 35 instead of providing doors.

When the above-mentioned doors are used, it is favorable, for example,if the structure is such that these doors are opened by mechanical orelectromagnetic action when a substrate holding space for a substratethat needs to be transported in or out is stopped after moving to aposition across from the substrate transportation port of the vacuumprocessing chamber 40, and these doors are closed when the substratetransportation is concluded and the substrate holding space is to bemoved. In this case, the opening and closing of these doors can becontrolled as dictated by the design.

The type of substrate used in this invention is not limited in any way,but it is favorable for the substrates to be treated in the substrateheat treatment chamber to be glass substrates. If they are, liquidcrystal devices can be formed in a shorter time and at a higher yieldfrom these glass substrates.

As is clear from the above description, with the heating and coolingapparatus of this invention, batch processing involving simultaneousheating and cooling in the same vacuum processing chamber is possibleand throughput can be increased, and furthermore the apparatus can bemore compact energy-efficient.

Also, with the heating and cooling apparatus of this invention, the heattreatment temperatures for various substrates are set independently andbatch processing involving simultaneous heating and cooling in the samevacuum processing chamber is possible and throughput can be increased,and furthermore the apparatus can be more compact energy-efficient.

Finally, the vacuum processing apparatus of this invention possesses thefeatures of any of the heating and cooling apparatus discussed above,and the effects thereof are realized.

1. A heating and cooling apparatus for substrates comprising: asubstrate a substrate heating chamber which heats the substrate, asubstrate cooling chamber which cools the substrate, a single vacuumprocessing chamber which accommodates both of the substrate heatingchamber and the substrate cooling chamber, a plurality of substrateholding spaces, which do not communicate with one another, provided inat least one of said substrate heating chamber and said substratecooling chamber; and a heating and cooling control means for enabling atleast one of individual heating of any substrates held in saidnon-communicating substrate holding spaces of said substrate heatingchamber and individual cooling of any substrates held in saidnon-communicating substrate holding spaces of said substrate coolingchamber.
 2. A vacuum processing apparatus comprising: a loading chamberadapted to load and unload substrates, and pump an interior of theloading chamber to a required pressure, a separation chamber adapted totransport a heating and cooling device which is separate from theloading chamber and which is configured to receive the substrates fromthe loading chamber or the separation chamber; wherein the heating andcooling device comprises: a substrate heating chamber configured to heatthe substrates, a substrate cooling chamber configured to cool thesubstrates, and a single vacuum processing chamber which accommodatesboth of the substrate heating chamber and the substrate cooling chamber.3. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 2, furthercomprising thermal shielding to thermally shield said substrate heatingchamber and said substrate cooling chamber from one another within saidvacuum processing chamber.
 4. The vacuum processing apparatus accordingto claim 2, wherein a substrate that is in said heating chamber is aglass substrate.
 5. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim2, further comprising a plurality of substrate holding spaces, which donot communicate with one another, provided in at least one of saidsubstrate heating chamber and said substrate cooling chamber.
 6. Thevacuum processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said substrateheating chamber comprises at least one opening and closing valve fortransporting substrates in and out of substrate heating chamber.
 7. Thevacuum processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the heatingand cooling device is disposed between the loading chamber and theseparation chamber.
 8. The vacuum processing apparatus according toclaim 2, further comprising at least two separation chambers, theheating and cooling device being arranged between one separation chamberand another separation chamber.
 9. The vacuum processing apparatusaccording to claim 2, wherein the heating and cooling device furthercomprises a substrate transportation chamber which is thermally shieldedfrom the substrate heating chamber and the substrate cooling chamber,and through which substrates pass from the loading or separationchambers to the other.
 10. The vacuum processing apparatus according toclaim 9, further comprising thermal shielding to thermally shield saidsubstrate heating chamber and said substrate transportation chamber fromone another, and second thermal shielding to thermally shield saidsubstrate cooling chamber and said substrate transportation chamber fromone another.
 11. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 2,wherein the heating and cooling device is partitioned into two parts bya vertical wall which thermally shields the two parts, the substrateheating chamber disposed in one of the parts, and the substrate coolingchamber disposed in the other part.
 12. The vacuum processing apparatusaccording to claim 2, further comprising: a plurality of substrateholding spaces, which do not communicate with one another, provided inat least one of said substrate heating chamber and said substratecooling chamber; and a heating and cooling controller for enabling atleast one of individual heating of any substrates held in saidnon-communicating substrate holding spaces of said substrate heatingchamber; or individual cooling of any substrates held in saidnon-communicating substrate holding spaces of said substrate coolingchamber.